AJMAL KASAB HANGED

November 21st, 2012 by Ravi Matah | Posted in News   Comments Off on AJMAL KASAB HANGED
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The lone surviving Pakistani terrorist of Mumbai terror attacks, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab – was hanged at 0730 AM at Yerawada jail, Pune. He had killed 166 people at  Mumbai  on 21/11/2008.

Ajmal Kasab

Ajmal Kasab

President Pranab Mukherjee had rejected his mercy plea earlier this month.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan told journalists that Kasab had been buried inside the Yerawada jail premises after the execution. Chavan said, Kasab had been shifted from Mumbai’sArthur Roadjail to Pune two days ago.

The execution was carried out in complete secrecy but it was only when the news of his hanging was announced on the TV news channels, people thronged the Yerawada jail.

Ironically, Kasab’s end came 5 days before the fourth anniversary of the terror attacks which injured more than 300 people and killed 166 – in cold blood.

Kasab was barely 21 when he carried out the brutal attack and was sentenced to death on four counts and to life sentence on five counts on charges including murder, waging a war onIndiaand possessing weapons. His last wish was that his mother should be informed about his execution.

He was first sentenced to death by a special trial court on May 6, 2010.

The Bombay High Court upheld the verdict February 21 last year, followed by a similar decision by the Supreme Court on Aug 29.

It took the Maharashtra government less than two weeks to hang Kasab, after President Pranab Mukherjee rejected his mercy petition on November 5.

‘Pakistanhas been informed but there is no demand for Kasab’s body,’ Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said, adding, that the entire operation had to be conducted under secrecy due to the sensitivities involved and the due procedures were followed.

Soon after, reactions started pouring in.

‘Better late than never. Kasab’s hanging will act as a balm on the wounds of the people of Mumbai but their wounds are still fresh,’ said Shahnawaz Hussain, the spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party.

‘They will get relief only when Kasab’s handler’s from across the border are also brought to justice.’

In the wake of Kasab’s hanging, actor Ram Kapoor (seen in TV serial Bade Ache Lagte Hain) reacts :-

“To be honest, I am feeling mixed emotions. Even though his crimes were heinous I can’t seem to forget that he was just a kid. The real culprits are the people that were controlling the entire event by phone and those people are very much alive. We can never disregard what Kasab did but we must also remember that he was merely a 19 year old pawn being used by the masterminds that are still at large.”

The father of Sandeep Unnikrishnan, a NSG commando slain in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, Wednesday said Ajmal Amir Kasab’s execution was a step in the right direction.

“It is not a late decision, and it is a step in the right direction. But a lot has to be done before perpetrators of the Mumbai attack are brought to justice (inPakistan).”

I also concur here that the hanging of Kasab is not the end. It’s not a matter for the country to rejoice. Kasab was a kid and a pawn in the hands of the master-minds of 26/11 attack who are roaming free inPakistan and until Pakistan takes action against them, this is not the end, it’s the beginning of the clean-up.

In keeping with jail manual processes, Kasab was offered contact with his family and the drawing up of a will, but he refused all of it, Maharashtra government sources said. Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said his family and thePakistangovernment had been informed through the Indian High Commission about Kasab’s execution. No one, however, had claimed the body.

Kasab deserved the extreme punishment and a sad chapter has come to an end. But this is not the end. The perpetrators of the 26/11 attack are alive and ticking inPakistanand are not non-State actors.

The Pakistan Embassy was informed of the execution in time, but they did not claim the body of Ajmal Kasab.

The families of those killed or injured in the 26/11 attack are now satisfied that justice has been done, even though late but still acceptable.

 

 

Ravi Matah.

 

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